Ron being able to mimic Parseltongue *sigh*. It's just not working, is it? While audiences accept this as a stroke of good luck ("hooray, Ron can speak snake language too - kind of!"), it just seems like a bit of a clumsy attempt on Rowling's part to get us to the next scene in The Deathly Hallows. We know earlier on that Dumbledore understood Parseltongue, but couldn't speak it, and it's stated that only direct Slytherin descendants could speak it. But not to worry, in this time of need, Ron can just try out some language skills - and thank goodness he's good at them, because otherwise all the characters would probably be dead.